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CONTENT AREA THINKING

Content Area Thinking, Language, & Literacy

Blake Allen

Sanford College of Education, National University

ITL 520: Academic Language & Literacy

Dr. Janice March

October 18, 2020

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CONTENT AREA THINKING
  English English ELL- ELL- SEL- Student with
Speakers- Speakers- Emerging Bridging Proficient Special
Basic Proficient Needs-
Dyslexia

Reading Standards for Literacy in History/Social Studies at grade 11-12:

6. “Evaluate authors’ differing points of view on the same historical event or issue by
assessing the authors’ claims, reasoning, and evidence” (California Department of
Education [CDE], 2013, p. 81).

Thinking [In accordance to Bloom’s Taxonomy Revised] In efforts to evaluate (by way
Taxonomy  of assessing [conceptual dimension of knowledge] authors’ claims, reasoning,
Functions and evidence) authors’ differing points of view on the same historical event or
  issue, students would be expected to know and be able to:

 Analyze authors’ respective points of views (claims, reasoning, and

evidence) on the same historical event or issue;
 Apply authors’ respective claims, reasoning, and evidence as points of
view for the same historical event or issue;
 Understand authors’ respective claims, reasoning, and evidence on the
same historical event or issue;
 [and] Remember authors’ respective claims, reasoning, and evidence on
the same historical event or issue.
Literacy In keeping consideration of R.CCR.6 (complementary to CCSS.ELA-
Expectations Literacy.RH.11-12.6), by the end of grades 11-12 students are expected to
  know and be able to:
 
 “Assess how point of view or purpose shapes the content and style of a
text” (CDE, 2013. p. 80).

 Scaffolds English ELL- Emerging [w/  SEL-Proficient

  Speakers- Basic substantial support]
 Verbal and written
 
 Extended  Extended
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CONTENT AREA THINKING
  English English ELL- ELL- SEL- Student with
Speakers- Speakers- Emerging Bridging Proficient Special
Basic Proficient Needs-
Dyslexia

  opportunity to opportunity to modeling

respond respond  Provide verbal and
 Verbal and  Verbal and written written sentence
written modeling modeling frames
 Pre-teach  Provide for  Grammatical
academic comprehensible support
vocabulary input (new→old)  Provide regular,
 Provide verbal  Pre-teach structured
and written academic opportunities to
sentence frames vocabulary read, write, speak,
 Allow for  Provide verbal and listen, and/or
opportunities to written sentence communicative
pair w/ frames competence.
proficient-  Utilize graphic
varying English organizers
Speakers  Allow for
 Reduced opportunities to
linguistic load pair w/ proficient-
varying ELL
 Reduce linguistic
load
 Continued access
to L1

Language In keeping consideration of the California English Language Development

Expectations Standards (corresponding to CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.11-12.6), by the end of
grades 11-12 students are expected to know and be able to perform the
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CONTENT AREA THINKING
  English English ELL- ELL- SEL- Student with
Speakers- Speakers- Emerging Bridging Proficient Special
Basic Proficient Needs-
Dyslexia

  following tasks:
 
 “Reading closely literary and informational texts and viewing
 
multimedia to determine how meaning is conveyed explicitly and
implicitly through language”
 [and ] “Evaluating how well writers and speakers use language to
support ideas and arguments with details or evidence depending on
modality, text type, purpose, audience, topic, and content area” (CDE,
2014, p. 135).

Scaffolds English ELL- Bridging [w/ light  Student with Special

  Speakers- Proficient support] Needs- Dyslexia
 
 Extended  Extended  Extended
academic academic opportunity to
vocabulary vocabulary respond
 Required use of  Required use of  Reduced linguistic
verbal and verbal and written load
written academic academic language  Opportunities to
language  Provide individually read-
 Provide independent aloud
independent regular, structured  Request
regular, opportunities to confirmation of
structured read, write, speak, accurate reading
opportunities to listen, and/or
read, write, communicative
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CONTENT AREA THINKING
  English English ELL- ELL- SEL- Student with
Speakers- Speakers- Emerging Bridging Proficient Special
Basic Proficient Needs-
Dyslexia

speak, listen, competence

and/or
communicative
competence

The provided exercise, in allowing for a tangible understanding of the traceable

correspondence between the CA CCSS, the CCR Anchor Standards, and the CA ELD Standards,
greatly facilitates a newfound, accurate and appropriate consideration for specific expectations
for what students should know and be able to do by the end of a respective grade level. Likewise,
through analysis of (and later differentiation for) varying scaffolding techniques in consideration
toward the continuum of learners (i.e. native-English speakers, ELL, SEL, and/or students with
special needs) [all-the-while in alignment to the CA Common Core State Standards), I, as a
future educator, am able to better recognize and understand the necessary application of supports
to extend an equitable opportunity for educational success.
References
California Department of Education [CDE]. (2013). California common core state standards:
English language arts & literacy in history/social studies, science, and technical
subjects. https://www.cde.ca.gov/be/st/ss/documents/finalelaccssstandards.pdf

California Department of Education [CDE]. (2014). California English language development

standards (electronic edition): Kindergarten through grade 12.
https://www.cde.ca.gov/sp/el/er/documents/eldstndspublication14.pdf